Monday, July 7, 2014

Film Review: The Last Tycoon (2012)

"...has its share of shortcomings, but it also has
plenty of exemplary elements."

The
rise of young gangster Cheng Daqi (Huang Xiaoming), his life as a
prominent mob boss in Shanghai (Chow Yun-fat), and how a historical
event would change his character...

The Last Tycoon tells the
story of Cheng Daqi. The first half of the story jumps frequently from
past to present. It'll show you Daqi's uprising and his past
relationships, then jump to the present to follow Daqi in Japan occupied
Shanghai -- and how he chooses to deal with it -- then back to the
present, and so on. The second half focuses more on Daqi as a mob boss,
especially when the war begins to take a toll on his personal life and
relationship. The first half is an entertaining but run-of-the-mill
gangster flick, while the second half differentiates itself for a more
personal drama. The ending was great, but I felt some elements were
unnecessary -- said element kind of made the film drag a bit.

First
and foremost, my first issue comes with the unnecessarily convoluted
storytelling. The jumping from past to present helps keep the audience
engaged, but for the wrong reasons; instead of focusing on the story and
characters, you're trying to piece this together like a puzzle, and its
far from a mystery film. Also, the story felt very compressed; Cheng
Daqi's life is so interesting, but we get minuscule details because it
moves so fast over decades of his life. And, I also found it to be
disjointed. One moment the character would be doing this or saying that,
then it leaps to a different scene or completely change the mood -- it
never got into a smooth flow.

However, despite the miniscule
details, I liked Cheng Daqi's character; I mean, I don't praise
gangsters or idolize the lifestyle, but I appreciate the story's focus
on character. Although the romance elements also feel half-baked, I
liked the love-triangle; sure, it can come off as corny, but it also
felt surprisingly genuine. If any of the elements came up fully
developed, I'd say it's the action. By no means is this another Hard Boiled, but it has a handful of exciting shootouts and vicious melee
action sequences. And, what else can I say, I'm sure like many of you,
I'm a sucker for a gangster flick, especially film's like this, with
old-school settings.

Huang Xiaoming plays the younger Cheng
Daqi, while Chow Yun-fat plays the older Cheng Daqi. The former is very
good, but Chow Yun-fat stole the show with his charismatic and genuine
performance; I feel like he really redeemed the half-baked romance plot.
(Also, the man must've found the fountain of youth, he never ages!) I
loved the cinematography, I'm a big fan of the use of vibrant colors,
and this film is very vivid. The music was also great; it had a
Godfather-vibe, with a pinch of the culture. Director Wong Jing is
decent; the film's lack of flow and consistency makes it feel like a TV
show stitched together.

Overall, The Last Tycoon
is a very good
gangster crime film. It has its share of shortcomings, but it also has
plenty of exemplary elements. I disliked the inconsistent flow of the
film, but I actually enjoyed the story, especially the latter half, and
the character. I also loved the film's visual style and music, which is at least worth noting. Definitely worth a Netflix stream, and even a purchase for die-hard fans of the genre.